An Unintentional Betrayal
by Seraphim Raven
Summary: What if Griever wasn't destroyed by Eden? What if it now dwells inside a young boy who grows up to be an aspiring SeeD? How will it affect his life and those around him? Squinoa


A Different Path of Life

Summary: Eden was close to destroying Griever, but what if Ultimecia was somehow able to save Griever before it died? What if it lives in a young boy who grows to be an aspiring Seed due to the evil sorceress? Can this sorceress control this man, using the beast's anger, hatred, and bloodlust within him, to cause mass destruction on the world and harm those dear to him? Especially the one he comes to love?

This is my first FFVIII fic, so be nice, no flames its stupid. Squall and Rinoa are I say 7 or 8, whatever suits you. This is only a prologue. I'd like to thank my ever faithful and loyal beta, DarkNightDreamer, who has helped me a lot. Well, I hope you like it.

* * *

A New Life

A boy with spiky brown hair was lying on the beach near an orphanage, wearing a pair of black shorts and a white t-shirt, due to the sweltering hot summer weather. He always liked going to the beach; it always calmed him for some reason. It gave him time to think of how his life would be if he had parents that cared for him, though it didn't change his predicament the teeny, tiniest bit. They probably didn't want him.

He hated them, wherever they were, for leaving him to this. Sometimes he dismissed his anger and hatred, because, he thought, maybe, just maybe they were trying to protect him. He would never know, and he personally didn't care anymore.

The boy looked relaxed with his peaceful expression. He heard the sound of a car stopping on a nearby road. He didn't move. He knew nothing would harm him. What would anyone want to do with an orphan, right? Nobody cared about orphans, except for their Matron of course, and the very few people who had pitied them for their misfortune, but that just made everything worse.

This time, he heard laughter. He concluded that it was a girl. He didn't move. He heard the low sound of shifting particles, signaling footsteps, on the soft sand. They stopped. He sat up and opened his eyes to see who it was, just to satisfy his curiosity. Cheery chocolate colored eyes came into his ray of vision.

"Wow, you've got really nice eyes..." said the young girl. He said nothing as he observed her. She, too, wore black shorts, but she wore a light blue spaghetti strap tank top. He didn't know what she wanted with him. So he waited to see what she would do. She continued to stare into his crystal blue eyes. She looked to be about his age. She had dark brown hair with a few gold highlights that fell around her heart-shaped face. He saw her lips move as she spoke to him, but he was in a trance, and he heard no words. She tilted her head to the side with a smile on her face.

"What?" he asked, trying not to be embarrassed. She laughed.

"My name's Rinoa...who are you?" she asked, the smile still on her face. Squall contemplated whether or not to tell her his name. She seemed too innocent to be suspicious, so he decided to trust her...for now.

"Squall..." he said.

"Nice to meet you, Squall!" she said, that radiant grin never sliding off her face. He merely nodded his head as if to say the same thing.

"You don't talk much, do you?" she asked in a curious voice. Squall shrugged.

"Whatever..." he said and stood up. He was a few inches taller than her.

"Meanie..." she said in a low voice. Squall raised his eyebrow at her. She had her back facing him while she looked out to the sea.

"Whatever..." he said, not caring at all. Rinoa turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, but noticed at the same time, he was walking away from her.

"Hey...Hey ...Come back here, you meanie ...!" she yelled as she ran after him. Squall ignored the girl chasing him and continued walking away, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Suddenly, he was at a loss of breath as he fell with the girl on top of him as she tackled him to the ground. He let out an audible "oof" as the girl landed on him.

"Ha, gotcha, meanie!" she announced with a triumphant smile. Squall groaned in slight annoyance.

"Did you have to tackle me?" he asked, obviously irritated by her actions.

"Yup! It was the only way I could stop you!" She got off Squall and waited till he got up.

"Why are you here?" he asked in curiosity.

"My daddy said that I could stay here and make some friends!" Squall said nothing. Rinoa looked down at her feet while one toed the sand.

"Could..." Squall waited her to finish.

"Could you..."

"Could I what?" he asked, impatient.

"Could you be my friend?" Squall raised his eyebrow at this.

'It took her that long to ask me that simple question? Its not that hard...' he thought. Rinoa looked at him for a response. He merely shrugged.

"Whatever..." he said, just to get on her nerves. Rinoa frowned at his response but smiled nonetheless.

"Yay!" she yelled as she hugged him. Squall made do move to huge her back. He merely tapped her back with his hand in a somewhat comforting manner. He never did experience this before, Sis Elle and Matron didn't count. Rinoa hugged him as hard as she could.

"Rinoa...you can let go of me now..." he said and gently pushed her off. She backed away and grinned at him.

"Come on, let's go!" she said as she grabbed his hand and dragged him along while she ran. Squall regained his balance and strode beside her without any assistance.

"Where are you going?" he asked in mild curiosity and annoyance.

"You're gonna show me around." Was her simple answer. Squall rose an eyebrow.

"I am?" he asked.

"Yeah! I'm staying here for awhile, so I might as well know more about this place, right?"

"Whatever..." he said. He pulled back on her hand making her stop. She looked back up at him wonderingly, ready to retort at his sudden movement. He pointed to a massive cherry blossom tree on a small hill that overlooked the beach. He let go of her hand and walked toward it. She followed; her eyes remaining on the tree.

"Wow...it's beautiful..." Rinoa breathed. Squall nodded. He sat down at leaned against the trunk, Rinoa following suit. Squall rested his head on the arms that were crossed behind his head and closed his eyes. Rinoa stared at him.

'Hee hee, he looks cute when he's sleeping...like a little baby...'

Rinoa noticed a silver chain dangling from Squall's neck. On it, was a fearsome lion on a cross. Rinoa went closer to Squall and reached for it. She examined in her hands. Squall opened his eyes to see Rinoa playing with his chain. They locked eyes for a moment and she smiled at him.

"It's really pretty...where'd you get it?" she asked eagerly. Squall frowned at this question and Rinoa noticed his discomfort. She tilted her head as she tried to find the answer in his crystal blue eyes. She saw anger, confusion, and hatred.

"I...don't know...Matron said...that when she found me...this was found with me...its Griever...it symbolizes pride and strength..."

"Kinda like you?" He nodded

"...so...you're an orphan...?"

"Yeah..." Rinoa looked up at the sky that was turning dark.

"It must be really hard..." Squall looked at her.

"To not have any parents that will be there for you...to not have their support and their love... you must be really lonely..." Squall looked down at the ground.

"My mother died... not to long ago…she gave me this..." Tears fell from her eyes as she held the ring on the chain that was wrapped around her neck. Squall focused his eyes on the night sky.

"You know...I never even knew who my parents were...at least you did...you should treasure the memories you had with her...I bet she would want that...for you to be happy and learn that you have to do things on your own now..."

Rinoa turned to him while his eyes were still on the sky. She smiled as more tears fell. She hugged him once more, her tears still shedding.

"Thank you...Squall..."

"Hm? For what?"

"For caring...and for being my friend..." Squall smiled at her.

"No problem...come on, we have to go..."

"Why?"

"Because Matron will kill me if I don't get back soon..."

"Oh, okay..." she said as they both got up and walked toward the orphanage, hand-in-hand.

* * *

"Come on Rinoa I know you can do better!" Squall taunted as he stood on a branch of humongous cherry blossom tree.

"Its not that easy to climb a tree you know!" yelled Rinoa as she got up from the ground. She attempted to climb the tree again to reach Squall, but he was too high up. She was halfway there when she slipped and was going to fall, hadn't it been for Squall.

"You okay?" he asked as he tried not to lose balance while holding Rinoa by her hand.

"No..." she said as she sent him a glare. "Help me up!"

"You know, I think I'll you'll just be fine right there..." he said with a wide grin.

"Squall...don't..." Rinoa said shakily, with fear and anger in her eyes. Squall merely grinned mischievously. He let go of her hand and grabbed it quickly before she could fall.

"Squall! Don't do that!" Squall tilted his head at her, an innocent look on his face.

"Don't play stupid, Squall..."

"I'm not..." Rinoa sighed, knowing this would go nowhere.

"Squall, just please. Help me up." He let go one of his hands on hers to run it through his shiny brown hair.

"Hm...let me think about that..." Rinoa grinned at took the opportunity to have revenge, while he had his eyes closed in thought. She held onto a sturdy branch and pulled on Squall's hand to bring him down. He yelped as he was jerked down and collapsed to the ground. He groaned in pain.

"Ow...that hurt..." he said as he rubbed the back of his head. Rinoa laughed at him. She stuck her tongue out in a tease, and then she too, felt a jerk that brought her to the ground.

"Ow..." she said as she rubbed her back. She saw Squall laughing, a rudely pointed finger directed towards her, and his other hand holding his stomach.

"Meanie!" she yelled as she threw a rock at his head. Squall's head was tilted by the impact and he had a blank look, stunned.

"Ow..." he said as he got up.

"That's what you get for being mean, you big meanie!"

"Whatever..." Squall said as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Another rock to his head was his answer. He glared at Rinoa who slid an innocent façade over her face.

* * *

'Wow...I never would have thought that that girl would have affected him so much...with Ellone gone...I would never have thought that he would smile again...' thought Matron as she continued watching the two children.

It had been a month since Rinoa had been at the orphanage. Squall and Rinoa had been friends since then. Squall was always in a happy mood. Nothing bad could happen, or so they thought.

* * *

"I hate her!" yelled Squall as he stood on a branch high in the cherry blossom tree. He hit the trunk in anger till pieces of wood flew and he was bleeding. He stopped and leaned against it.

"Why am I always alone? First, it's my parents, then it's Ellone, and now...it's Rinoa…Why?...I hate this, and I hate her...I won't depend on anyone anymore, because others won't always be there...they always leave you in the end...you can only rely on yourself...!"

"What an interesting philosophy..." said a woman voice.

"Who's there?" he asked as he jumped to his feet, his eyes frantically searching for the intruder.

"Someone who can help you..." Squall had a bewildered and confused look on his face as his eyes continued darting around, looking for the owner of the voice.

"How? How can you help me?" he demanded, thinking of all the ways this stranger could possible use to help him.

"There are many ways I can..."

'Huh?' he thought.

"Show yourself!" he commanded, wanting to know who this person was. He knew that this woman wouldn't speak to him without a reason.

"I already am..."

"Then how come I can't see you?"

"Because one cannot see me with the eyes..."

"What?" asked Squall, completely confused.

"Close your eyes, boy..." Squall obeyed, and there was familiar darkness. This time however, his was in it. He shuddered as a weird feeling crawled up his spine.

"Where are you?" he asked, his mind's eye searching for the woman.

"Here..." Squall tried to look at the source of the voice, but he heard it everywhere.

"Where?"

"Everywhere...in your mind..." she said and he could see the outline of the figure.

"Why are you here?" he asked impatiently.

"I sensed your anger and hatred...it's only natural..."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his intuition telling him that she wasn't a very nice person.

"You are always alone, are you not?" Squall didn't answer.

"Your parents, Ellone...Rinoa...you wish you can have power...to make sure that no one will ever come close to you again...so you can never get hurt...am I right...Squall?" Squall opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it, because he could never deny something that was true.

"Well Squall...I can give you that power..." Squall grabbed his chain with the Griever.

"Ah...what a coincidence...I see that you favor Griever...the legendary GF..."

"So what if I do?" he asked, thinking she said it as an insult.

"What if I said he wasn't...dead?"

"Then you'd be lying!"

"Wrong...since you desire power...I will give you power...I will give you Griever..."

"Liar! He's dead! Eden destroyed him!"

"Griever was almost destroyed...but I managed to save him..."

"How?" he asked in disbelief.

"I have my own special type of power..."

"So...Griever is still alive?"

"Yes, but he cannot be summoned the same way he used to be...he was too badly injured for that to happen again..."

"So how will giving me Griever give me power if I can't even summon him?"

"Griever can be summoned...but not like he used to...he must be summoned by one person... he must be contained, fused with someone...and that person only can use his power, for they are one...or let him loose, since it does have its own conscience..."

"So you chose me?"

"Yes, you know pain, anger, and hatred...you know what it means to be alone...you are the only one worthy enough to have him...the only one who will not use it as a weapon of destruction...the only one who can survive..."

"Will I still be human?" he asked in uncertainty. There was a pause.

"Yes...and in return of this power...you will serve me in the future..." Squall said nothing. He saw Griever, but he looked...evil. Squall didn't even have enough time to see a difference. He fell unconscious.

* * *

Squall woke up to see the Matron's worried eyes, then realized he was back at the orphanage. He was sitting in his bed, Matron sitting on the chair next to him.

"Squall, are you all right? We found you near the beach- what happened?"

"..." Squall struggled to find the words. He didn't know what happened or why he fell unconscious.

"I...don't know..." he said. He remembered hitting the tree, then he was resting a bit, then, just…blankness.

"What do you mean you don't know? Why were you out there?"

"I... was at the cherry blossom tree...I...guess I...fell..." Matron seemed satisfied to hear that. Squall looked at his hands to see that they weren't bleeding anymore and no wound was visible.

"Well, at least you're not hurt...come, we have special guests today." She said as she stood up.

"Guests...?" he said as he struggled to stand as well.

* * *

"Children, I'd like to introduce Cid Kramer...the headmaster of Balamb Garden." The orphans 'wowed' at the short man. Squall was leaning against a tree, standing while his arms were crossed and his eyes were closed. Contrary to what he looked like, he listened intently.

"Hello, I am here to see which one of you will be able to join Balamb Garden. First, we would like to see your abilities..." said Cid as one of his students came next to him.

"Who is interested in wielding a sword?" Only a few kids raised their hands. Cid chose one at random to fight his student. In the end, it was obvious that the student would defeat the child. Everyone had showed their abilities with their weapon of choice. Squall was still standing and had not moved at all. Cid noticed this the whole time.

"You...what's your name?" he said as he faced Squall. He opened his eyes to reveal his steel blue cold eyes.

"Squall..." he said indifferently.

"Come here...you have not shown me your abilities...what weapon would you like?" Squall stood up straight and walked toward Cid.

"Sword..." he said and Cid handed him a sword. His student took his own and stood ready for an attack. The other children had their eyes focused on them. Instead of wielding his sword with one hand like everyone else, he held it in front of him with to hands as if to intimidate his opponent. Cid smirked at this.

'Even if his abilities aren't that good...he has the qualities of a soldier...'

Squall moved the sword to his side horizontally and ran toward his opponent. The student moved his sword to block his and they fell into a lock, the student trying to push Squall away with his sword. Squall slid against the ground as his opponent was pushing him away, but he wouldn't let him. Instead, he glared at the man in front of him. The student's eyes widened at the look on the young boy's face.

In anger, Squall pushed his blade forward as hard as he could, causing the man to slide and lose balance as Squall broke the lock. Instead of attacking when his opponent had a clear opening for an attack, Squall jumped away and brought his sword in front of him once more. Inwardly, he calculated his opponent's movements.

The student regained his balance quickly and ran toward the boy, thoroughly angered. Squall stood still, waiting for the attack to come so he could block and counterattack at the right moment. The student jumped in the air and was going to land his sword down on Squall, before Squall brought his sword up horizontally to block the attack and, with lightning fast speed, knocked his sword away from his hands and was behind the crouched student, sword held with both hands on each end, the blunt side of the weapon facing the student's neck.

Everyone who saw this watched in awe. Nobody would have ever thought that Squall would be able to beat one who probably had years of experience. Cid was in shock, he never knew the boy could have such abilities.

'He'll make the perfect soldier...no...Seed...' he thought.

Squall was still glaring at the student with his cold blue eyes.

"Well done, Squall, you have some very impressive skills..." said Cid with a smile. Squall turned to look at him. The student took this opportunity to take down Squall and save whatever dignity he had left. The student grabbed the sword in Squall's hands, pulled it up, and brought it down. He knew that Squall would end up on the ground, head first.

What he didn't know, was that Squall knew what he was going to do. While he was about to be flung down he tight gripped the sword causing his left hand to bleed. As he gripped the sword, he quickly brought the sword up, along with the student since he was also gripping it. Squall then brought it down hard while he did a somersault. The student let go of the sword because of the impact and Squall did another somersault and landed in front of the student in a crouched position. The student sat up. Squall quickly half turned around and swung his sword. It stopped before the students neck once again, but this time the blunt side wasn't facing his neck.

Squall's eyes had never change, they were still glaring at the student. The student gulped nervously. Squall's eyes could pierce through anyone and if his looks could kill, many people would die. Cid and the other few students and Seed's stood once again in shock. Matron was surprised by Squall's actions. Sure he would get angry, but not like that, not like he was so angry that he could kill someone.

"Squall, stop!" yelled Matron. Squall continued glaring at the student.

The other orphans were quite scared of him. The Seed quickly ran toward Squall. He stood up unfazed and looked at Cid. He gave him a smile. Cid turned to the Matron.

"We will make our decision soon. Those who are picked will be leaving today" Matron nodded, understanding, but she was quite sad since a few of the orphans would be leaving. She knew Squall would be leaving, his abilities proved that, but how did he know how to fight like that. What happened?

"Squall, you may keep that sword if you wish..." said Cid. Squall nodded his thanks and saluted, knowing that he was part of the military. The Seed and Cid grinned, all thinking the same thing. They left to think who would be best to enter Balamb Garden. The student quickly left, afraid to have another encounter with Squall. Squall left to go to the beach to think.

* * *

Cid and the other Seed came back a few hours later.

"A lucky few will be able to enter Balamb Garden...those who are chosen to leave will leave today..." The orphans had a solemn look at the thought that they would leave their precious Matron. Squall remained indifferent.

"First one to leave will be..." Cid paused to see the faces of the children. They all looked like they didn't want to leave, but they knew they couldn't stay at the orphanage forever. Squall knew he was the first to leave, and it was a good thing too, because he wanted to.

"Squall..." said Cid and everyone turned to him. He'd already packed before they came so he grabbed the few things he had and went to the Matron before he left.

"Goodbye...Matron..." said Squall softly. Matron smiled sadly at him and hugged him tightly. Squall returned the gesture, but only for a brief moment. Matron let him go.

"Goodbye Squall...be careful...okay?" He nodded and headed toward Cid who led him toward a black car. Cid did not enter since he had continued choosing the other candidates. Squall went inside and a Seed drove him toward the Garden.

"You know...you're a real lucky kid...we all think you'll be a great Seed in the future..."

Squall unwrapped the red stained bandage that were on his hands to stop the bleeding. Once again, there wasn't even a scratch.

"Yeah..." said Squall while he looked out the window. He knew he was going to be bored so he closed his eyes.

'Whatever...' he thought before he fell asleep.

* * *

Yeah, this is probably the longest prologue I have ever written. Hoped you liked it, so review! Oh, does anyone want to be my beta? I haven't played FFVIII since it came out and my idiot brother scratched the 1st cd so bad it freezes when it plays the video in the beginning. This is based on memory so I need a beta who knows a lot about it. 


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